Connector assembly

ABSTRACT

Examples described herein relate to connector assembly for a connecting device. The connector assembly may include an electrical connector connectible with a corresponding receiving structure on a receiving device separate from the connecting device. Further, the connector assembly may include a connector housing enclosing the electrical connector. The connector housing may include a mounting lever engaged with a body of the connecting device to secure the connector housing with the connecting device and allow the connector housing to move relative to the body of the connecting device. Further, the connector assembly may include a biasing member disposed within the connector housing to bias the electrical connector toward the receiving structure on the receiving device.

BACKGROUND

Computing systems, for example, storage systems, servers, edge-computingsystems, and the like, may include several electronic devices that areinstalled on a motherboard. The motherboard may include a printedcircuit board having several electronic devices (e.g., integratedcircuits, resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes) disposed thereon.Further, the motherboard may also include certain receiving connectors isockets to receive any additional electronic devices. For example,electronic devices such as, but not limited to, additional integratedcircuits, power supply modules, and storage modules having one or morestorage devices may be removably coupled to the motherboard via thereceiving connectors. Moreover, modern-day computing systems offerincreased modularity to accept variety of electronic devices to beremovably connected to the motherboards via certain industry standardconnectors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentspecification will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a system, in accordance with anexample;

FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of a portion of a receiving device ofthe system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of a connecting device disposed in thesystem of FIG. 1, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of a connector, in accordance with anexample;

FIG. 5 depicts a perspective view of a connector assembly, in accordancewith an example;

FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view showing an engagement of a connectorhousing with a body of the connecting device, in accordance with anexample;

FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of a connecting device disposed in thesystem of FIG. 1, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 8 depicts a perspective view of a portion of the connecting devicedepicting a locking arrangement, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 9 depicts another perspective view of the connector assembly ofFIG. 6, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 10A depicts an exploded internal perspective view of the connectorassembly showing a connector housing portion and a biasing memberseparately, in accordance with an example;

FIG. 10B depicts an internal perspective view of the connector assemblyshowing a placement of a biasing member in a connector housing portion,in accordance with an example;

FIG. 11 depicts another internal cross-sectional perspective view of theconnector assembly showing a positioning arrangement of a biasingmember, in accordance with an example; and

FIG. 12 depicts a flow diagram of a method for forming a connectorassembly, in accordance with one example.

It is emphasized that, in the drawings, various features are not drawnto scale. In fact, in the drawings, the dimensions of the variousfeatures have been arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, same reference numbers are used in the drawings andthe following description to refer to the same or similar parts. It isto be expressly understood that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only. While several examples are describedin this document, modifications, adaptations, and other implementationsare possible. Accordingly, the following detailed description does notlimit disclosed examples. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosedexamples may be defined by the appended claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term“another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. Theterm “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, whetherdirectly without any intervening elements or indirectly with at leastone intervening element, unless indicated otherwise. For example, twoelements may be coupled mechanically, electrically, magnetically, orcommunicatively linked through a communication channel, pathway,network, or system. Further, the term “and/or” as used herein refers toand encompasses any and all possible combinations of the associatedlisted items. It will also be understood that, although the terms first,second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, etc. may be usedherein to describe various elements, these elements should not belimited by these terms, as these terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another unless stated otherwise or the context indicatesotherwise. As used herein, the term “includes” means includes but notlimited to, the term “including” means including but not limited to. Theterm “based on” means based at least in part on.

Computing systems, for example, storage systems, servers, edge-computingsystems, and the like, may include several electronic devices that areinstalled on a motherboard. The motherboard may include a printedcircuit board having several electronic devices (e.g., integratedcircuits, resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes) disposed thereon.Further, the motherboard may also include certain receivingconnectors/sockets to receive any additional electronic devices. Forexample, electronic devices such as, but not limited to, additionalintegrated circuits, power supply modules, and storage modules havingone or more storage devices may be removably coupled to the motherboardvia the receiving connectors. Moreover, modern-day computing systemsoffer increased modularity to accept variety of electronic devices to beremovably connected to the motherboards via certain industry standardconnectors.

A device capable of being removably coupled to the motherboard maytypically include a connector to couple the device with a correspondingreceiving counterpart (e.g., a receiving connector or socket) disposedon the motherboard. Further, certain devices that are removably coupledto the motherboard may be housed in a metallic or plastic body thathouses the several electronic components. For example, a storage modulemay include one or more storage devices (e.g., hard drives) housedwithin an enclosure/housing. During manufacturing of such devices, theremay exist certain tolerances in the dimensions of the enclosures and/orthe connector through which the device can be coupled to thecorresponding receiving counterpart on the motherboard.

In the field of operation, some devices may be manually installed on themotherboard, where in certain instances, the tolerances in thedimensions of the enclosure and/or the connector may cause faultyinstallation of the device on the motherboards due to any misalignment.Moreover, in some cases, due to such misalignment, several efforts maybe made to re-install the device on the motherboard, The misalignmentsand such several unsuccessful attempts to install the device may causewear and tear, and in some instances, damages, to the connector and/orthe corresponding counterpart on the motherboard. The damages, wear andtear may lead to costly replacement of the parts, in some instances.

Further, due to advances in the technology, clock speeds at whichmodern-day electronic devices are operating have also increased.Accordingly, height (or length) of connecting fingers on connectors andthe receptacles on the counterpart have reduced drastically (e.g., up-to1.2 mm or less). Such a low height of the connecting fingers may causethe connector to decouple from the counterpart on the motherboard.Alternatively, to avoid such decoupling, the connectors may includefasteners (e.g., screws) to couple the connector with the counterpart.Such installation may require tools to enable a mechanical couplingbetween the connector and the counterpart while still being susceptibleto damages, wear and tear caused due to any misalignment.

Examples disclosed herein address these technological issues bydisposing a connector in a connector housing that is movable withrespect to a body of connecting device and by using a biasing member andto retain the connector in contact with a receiving structure when theconnecting device is connected to a receiving device. For example, theconnector assembly as presented herein may include a connectorconnectible with a corresponding receiving structure on a receivingdevice separate from the connecting device. Further, the connectorassembly may include connector housing enclosing the connector. Theconnector housing may include a mounting lever engaged with a body ofthe connecting device to secure the connector housing with theconnecting device and allow the connector housing to move relative tothe body of the connecting device. The connector assembly may alsoinclude a biasing member disposed within the connector housing to biasthe connector toward the receiving structure on the receiving device.

The connector may be disposed in the connector housing that is movablerelative to the body of the connecting device. Such connector housingmay provide certain degree of freedom (e.g., movement in an X-Ydirection) to adjust a seating position of the connector which canreduce any wear and tear or damages to the connector and/or thereceiving structure on the receiving device (e.g., motherboard).Additionally, use of the biasing member may ensure a tight couplingbetween the connector and the receiving structure when the connectingdevice is installed in the receiving device. As such, the biasing membermay provide a biasing force in a Z-direction (perpendicular to the X andY directions). Accordingly, use of the connector assembly enables theconnector to be connected to the receiving structure without requiring aseparate manual connection of the connector. Moreover, use of theconnector assembly enables a tool less secure coupling of the connector.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1, a perspective view of a system100 is depicted, in accordance with an example. The system 100 may be acomputing system or any other electronic system that may be capable ofstoring data, processing data, and/or communicating data with externaldevices. Non-limiting examples of the system 100 may include, but arenot limited to, a server, a storage device, a composable infrastructurewith compute, storage, and/or networking resources, a network switch, arouter, a mobile communication device, a desktop computer, a portablecomputer, a networked resource enclosure, an edge-computing device, or aWLAN access point. The server may be a blade server, for example. Thestorage device may be a storage blade, for example.

In some examples, the system 100 may include a receiving device 102 anda connecting device 104. The receiving device 102 may include a printedcircuit assembly alternatively referred to as a motherboard 106. Themotherboard 106 may include several electronic components and modules108 that are either permanently attached (e.g., soldered) or removablyattached to the motherboard 106. The term “removably attached” or“removably coupled” as used herein may refer to a coupling arrangementbetween two components that allows the coupled components to bedecoupled and coupled again when desired. In some implementations,certain electronic components, such as resistors, diodes, transistors,integrated circuits, may be permanently soldered to the motherboard 106.However, certain devices, for example, memory modules such as randomaccess memory (RAM) chips may be removably coupled on the motherboard106 on a respective chip socket.

Moreover, the connecting device 104 may refer to a device that can beremovably coupled to the motherboard 106 to enhance various capabilitiesof the system 100. By way of example, the connecting device 104 may be astorage module, a compute module, a networking module, a communicationmodule, power supply module, a cooling module, and the like. In someother examples, the connecting device 104 may be any electronic devicecapable of being coupled to the receiving device 102. The connectingdevice 104 may be able to establish data and/or power transfer with themotherboard 106 when coupled to the motherboard 106. In the descriptionhereinafter, for illustration purposes, the connecting device 104 isdescribed as a storage module including a plurality of storage devices109 (e.g., hard disk drives, solid-state drives, etc.). Additionaldetails of the connecting device 104 are described in conjunction withFIG. 3.

In some examples, the connecting device 104 may be coupled to themotherboard 106 such that electrical and/or data communication may beestablished between the receiving device 102 and the connecting device104. For example, if the connecting device 104 is a storage module, whenthe connecting device 104 is coupled to the motherboard 106, electricaland/or data communication may be established between any computeresource (e.g., processor, not shown) disposed on the motherboard 106and one or more storage devices 109 of the storage module. Theelectrical and/or data communication between the receiving device 102and the connecting device 104 may be established via connectors. Forexample, the connecting device 104 may be equipped with a connector (seeFIG. 4) and the receiving device 102 may include corresponding receivingstructure (see FIG. 2).

In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the connectingdevice 104 may include a connector assembly 110 that may house theconnector and facilitate electrical and/or data communication betweenthe receiving device 102 and the connecting device 104 while reducingwear and tear or damages to the connector and/or the receiving structureon the receiving device 102. Moreover, the connector assembly 110 mayalso facilitate a tool less secure coupling between the receiving device102 and the connecting device 104 without use of extra fixtures (e.g.,screws). Additional details of the connector assembly 110 will bedescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 3-11.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a perspective view 200 of a portion 111 of thereceiving device 102 of the system 100 of FIG. 1 is depicted, inaccordance with an example. As depicted in FIG. 2, in the portion 111 ofthe receiving device 102 may be a region of the motherboard 106 thatreceives the connecting device 104. The connecting device 104 may bedisposed on the motherboard 106 so that the electrical and/or datacommunication may be established between the receiving device 102 andthe connecting device 104. By way of example, the motherboard 106 mayinclude a receiving structure 112 to which the connector assembly 110may be coupled to when the connecting device 104 may be disposed on themotherboard 106. Accordingly, a position of the connector assembly 110on the connecting device 104 may be arranged so that the connectorassembly 110 is aligned with a position of the receiving structure 112on the motherboard 106, and vice-versa.

In some examples, a profile of the receiving structure 112 may beselected so that when the connecting device 104 is disposed on themotherboard 106, the connector (see FIG. 4) of the connector assembly110 may be engaged with the receiving structure 112. For example, if theconnector of the connector assembly 110 is a male-type plug, thereceiving structure 112 may be a corresponding female-type receiversocket. For illustration purposes, in the example of FIG. 2, thereceiving structure 112 is shown to be a TA-1002 female-type receiversocket. In some examples, the receiving structure 112 may include aplurality of receptacles that may contact corresponding connectingfingers (described later) on the connector of the connector assembly110.

Moving now to FIG. 3, a perspective view 300 of the connecting device104 having the connector assembly 110 is depicted, in accordance with anexample. Further, FIGS. 4-8 depicting additional features of theconnector assembly 110 are also described concurrently with thedescription of FIG. 3 for ease of illustration. As depicted in FIG. 3,the connecting device 104 may include a body 114. The body 114 of theconnecting device 104, in some examples, may serve as a housing forseveral components (e.g., circuit boards, storage devices 109,electronic components, etc.) of the connecting device 104. In certainexamples, the body 114 may include several openings, holes, or amesh-profile to aid in cooling of the components disposed inside thebody 114.

Further, in some examples, the connecting device 104 may include abackplane printed circuit assembly (PCA) 116 that may interconnect oneor more of the components of the connecting device 104 and/or provideconnections of some of the components of the connecting device 104 withexternal devices (e.g., the motherboard). By way of example, thebackplane PCA 116 may include at least one port, such as a port 118 thatprovide access to the components, for example, one or more storagedevices of the connecting device 104. In some examples, the connectorassembly 110 may be electrically coupled to the port 118 via a cable126. The connector assembly 110 may, in-turn, couple the port 118 of theconnecting device 104 with the motherboard 106 so that components (e.g.,the computing resources) disposed on the motherboard 106 can access thecomponents (e.g., the one or more storage devices) in the connectingdevice 104.

In some examples, the connector assembly 110 may include a connector120. A detailed perspective view 400 of the connector 120 is depicted inFIG. 4, in accordance with one example. The connector 120 may beconnectible with the corresponding receiving structure 112 on thereceiving device 102. For example, the connector 120 may be selected sothat when the connecting device 104 is disposed on the motherboard 106,the connector 120 may be engaged with the receiving structure 112. Byway of example, the connector 120 of the connector assembly 110 may be amale-type plug if the corresponding the receiving structure 112 is afemale-type receiver socket. Further, if the connecting device 104 is astorage module having a plurality of storage devices 109 (see FIG. 1),the connector 120 may be coupled to at least one storage device of theplurality of storage devices to facilitate data transfer for the atleast one storage device. For illustration purposes, in the example ofFIGS. 3 and 4, the connector 120 is shown to be a TA-1002 type maleplug. Although, the connector 120 is described as being an electricalconnector, the connector 120 may as well be an optical connector or anyother type of connector without limiting the scope of the presentdisclosure.

In some examples, as depicted in FIG. 4, the connector 120 may include aconnector body 122 and a plurality of connecting fingers 124 that maycontact the corresponding receptacle in the receiving structure 112 whenthe connecting device 104 is disposed on the receiving device 102. Insome examples, the connector body 122 may be formed of an electricallyinsulating material (e.g., plastic) and the connecting fingers 124 maybe formed of an electrically conductive material (e.g., metal). Further,in some examples, connector assembly 110 may include the connectingcable 126 that couples the connector 120 with the port 118. Inparticular, the connecting cable 126 may cause electrical couplingbetween the port and the connecting fingers 124 in the connector 120.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 in some examples, the connector assembly110 may include a connector housing 130. The connector housing 130 mayenclose the connector 120. The connector housing 130 may be movablycoupled to the body 114 of the connecting device 104. The term “movablycoupled” or “movable coupling” may refer to a coupling between twocomponents that allows one component to move relative to anothercomponent. For example, the connector housing 130 may be coupled to thebody 114 such that the connector housing 130 may move relative to thebody 114 while being in engagement with the body 114. To establish suchmovable coupling, the connector housing 130 may include a mounting lever132. The mounting lever 132 may be engaged with the body 114 of theconnecting device 104 to secure the connector housing 130 with the body114 of the connecting device 104 such that the connector housing 130 canmove relative to the body 114. More particularly, the mounting lever 132may be engaged with the body 114 at an anchor location 134 on the body114 and is able to move relative to the anchor location 134 (see FIG.6).

In some examples, the mounting lever 132 (see FIGS. 5-9) may include anend section 136 that is movably coupled with the body 114 of theconnecting device 104. For example, in perspective views 500, 700, and900 depicted respectively in FIGS. 5, 7, and 9, the end section of themounting lever 132 may be a cylindrical end section 136. Further, thebody 114 may also have a cylindrical groove 138 at the anchor location134. The connector housing 130 may be coupled to the body 114 byinserting the cylindrical end section 136 into the cylindrical groove138. Such engagement of the cylindrical end section 136 with thecylindrical groove 138 may allow an angular movement of the connectorhousing 130 with respect to a central axis 139 of the cylindrical endsection 136. In certain examples, the cylindrical end section 136 andthe cylindrical groove 138 may be dimensioned so that the connectorhousing 130 may be able to rotate with respect to the central axis 139of the cylindrical end section 136. For instance, an outer diameter ofthe cylindrical end section 136 may be smaller than an inner diameter ofthe cylindrical groove 138. By way of example, FIG. 7 depicts one suchperspective view 700 of the connecting device 104 where the connectorassembly 110 is shown as rotated in comparison to a position of theconnector assembly 110 depicted in FIG. 3.

Further, in FIG. 6, the perspective view 600 showing the connectingdevice 104 disposed in the system 100 of FIG. 1 is depicted, inaccordance with an example. For example, the perspective view 600depicts a detailed view showing engagement between the mounting lever132 and the groove 138 in the body 114 of the connecting device. Inaccordance with the aspects of the present application, the mountinglever 132 may be engaged with the body 114 of the connecting device 104such that the mounting lever 132 can move back and forth, for example,along directions 145 and 147 that are opposite to each other andperpendicular to the central axis 139 of the end section 136. Inparticular, the groove 138 and/or the end section 136 may be dimensionedsuch that such movement of the end section 136 along the directions 145and 147 may be allowable. In one example, to allow such movement of thesection 136, the groove 138 may be dimensioned to have an inner diametergreater than a diameter of the section 136. More particularly, thegroove 138 may be dimensioned so that there exists some space inside thegroove 138 for the end section 136 to travel along the directions 145and 147. Advantageously, such connector housing 130 having the mountinglever 132 engaged in the groove 138 may provide certain degree offreedom (e.g., movement in an X-Y direction) to adjust a seatingposition of the connector 120 which can reduce any wear and tear ordamages to the connector 120 and/or the receiving structure 112 on themotherboard 106.

Further, in some examples, an opening 137 (e.g., mouth) of the groove138 defined by faces 141 and 143 is dimensioned such that the mountinglever 132 is retained in the groove 138. In particular, in someexamples, a distance between the faces 141 and 143 (e.g., width of theopening) may be kept smaller than the diameter of the end section 136.Hence, the mounting lever 132 may be stopped from being drifted orpulled away in a direction perpendicular to the central axis 139 of theend section 136.

In an alternative implementation, the end section 136 of the mountinglever 132 may include an opening (not shown). In such an implementation,the end section 136 may be coupled to the body 114 of the connectingdevice 104 using a fixture passing through the opening in the endsection 136 and reaching into the body 114 of the connecting device 104.By way of example, the fixture may be a pin or a nail with a headsection and an elongated body having a tail section. The head sectionmay have larger cross-sectional area than the rest of the body of thepin. The pin may be inserted in the opening formed in the end section136 such that the tail section of the fixture is inserted into andsecured with the body 114 at the anchor location 134. Once the fixtureis installed as described hereinabove, the head section of the fixturemay restrict an axial movement of the mounting lever 132 along thecentral axis 139 of the end section 136. Further, an outer diameter ofthe elongated body of the fixture may be smaller than an inner diameterof the opening formed in the end section 136 so that when the fixture isinserted in the opening, the connector housing 130 may have angularmovement with respect to the fixture.

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 5, in some examples, the connector housing130 may include a latch lever 140. The latch lever 140 may be located onan opposite side of the mounting lever 132. The latch lever 140 may beremovably snap-fitted to the body 114 of the connecting device 104 tofacilitate additional securing of the connector assembly 110 with thebody 114. In some examples, to aid in such snap fitting, the latch lever140 may include a latch opening 142. Further, the body 114 may also beprovisioned with a latch protrusion 144 (also shown in FIG. 7). In oneexample, the latch protrusion 144 may be formed via an extended part ofthe body 114. In another example, the latch protrusion 144 may be ascrew inserted into the body 114 that aligns with the latch opening 142when the connector assembly 110 is brought closure to the latchprotrusion 144 by rotating the connector housing 130. Further, when aforce is applied on the connector housing 130 in a direction 146, thelatch lever 140 may be snap-fitted to the body 114 of the connectingdevice 104, as depicted in FIG. 3.

Additionally, as depicted in a perspective view 800 of FIG. 8 and theperspective view 700 of FIG. 7, the connecting device 104 may beprovisioned to have a locking arrangement to stop the connector assembly110 from being drifted away from the groove 138, for example along thecentral axis 139 in the direction 149. To effect such locking, the body114 of the connecting device 104 may include a locking protrusion 162and the connector housing 130 may include an opening 164 that may alignwith the locking protrusion 162 when the latch lever 140 engages withthe latch protrusion 144 (see FIG. 8). Accordingly, when the latch lever140 engages with the latch protrusion 144, the locking protrusion 162may be inserted into the opening 164. Such engagement of the lockingprotrusion 162 with the opening 164 may minimize the movement of theconnector assembly 110 in the direction 149 such that the mounting lever132 remains engaged with the groove 138 and the body 114 of theconnecting device.

Furthermore, in some examples, the connector assembly 110 may include abiasing member 148 to bias the connector 120 toward the receivingstructure 112 when the connecting device 104 is disposed on thereceiving device 102. FIGS. 9, 10A-10B, and 9 respectively depictperspective views 900, 1000A, 1000B, and 1100 depicting arrangement ofthe biasing member 148 in the connector assembly 110, in accordance withsome examples. For ease of illustration, FIGS. 9-11 are referencedconcurrently in the description hereinafter. Further, to depict aplacement of the biasing member 148, a portion of the connector housing130 is not shown in the perspective view 900 of FIG. 9. Such portion ofthe connector housing that is missing or not shown in FIG. 9 is depictedas a connector housing portion 154 in FIGS. 10A and 10B. Examples of thebiasing member 148 may include, but are not limited to, coil springs,one or more bent wires, rubber blocks, or combinations thereof. Forillustration purposes, in FIGS. 9-11, the connector assembly 110 isshown to include a bent-wire element as the biasing member 148. It maybe noted that other types of elastic elements, such as, the coilsprings, rubber locks may also be employed in the connector assembly 110as the biasing member 148 without limiting the scope of the presentapplication. Moreover, while the biasing member 148 is shown to be au-shaped bent-wire element, the bent-wire element may be in any suitableconfiguration capable of applying the biasing force on the connector120. In some examples, the connector housing 130 may include a retainingstructure 150 (see FIGS. 10A and 10B) formed in the connector housingportion 154 to restrict a movement of the biasing member 148. Theretaining structure 150 may be a protruding wall within the connectorhousing 130.

Referring now to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the connector housing portion 154may include internal guideways 151 to retain the biasing member 148inside the connector housing 130. The internal guideways 151 may beformed adjacent to the retaining structure 150. In one example, theinternal guideways 151 are formed such that the internal guideways 151terminate at the retaining structure 150. In particular, the biasingmember 148 is disposed in the connector housing 130 via the internalguideways 151 such that ends 152 of the biasing member 148 face theretaining structure 150. For example, the biasing member 148 may beinserted into the connector housing portion 154 by sliding the biasingmember 148 into the internal guideways 151 in a direction 153. Uponinsertion into the internal guideways 151, the biasing member 148 may becompressed at side edges 155 due to contact with a surface of theinternal guideways 151. Further, due to its spring action, the biasingmember 148 may also apply an outward force on the surface of theinternal guideways 151 through the side edges 155. In particular, suchcontact forces between the biasing member 148 and the internal guidewaysmay aid in retaining the biasing member 148 in the connector housing130. Further, the biasing member 148 may be inserted into the guideways151 such that the ends 152 may face/touch the retaining structure 150upon insertion and a portion 156 of the biasing member 148 may remainoutside of the guideways 151 thereby resulting in an assembly depictedin FIG. 10B.

Referring now to FIG. 11 an internal cross-sectional perspective view1100 of the connector assembly 110 showing the positioning arrangementof the biasing member 148 is depicted, in accordance with one example.In the cross-sectional perspective view 1100 of FIG. 11, the connectorhousing portion 154 is not shown for aiding better visibility ofpositioning of the biasing member 148 with respect to the connector body122. The biasing member 148 may be disposed in the connector assembly110 such that a biasing force exerted by the biasing member 148 isapplied on the connector 120 in a direction toward the receivingstructure 112 when the connecting device 104 is installed on themotherboard 106. The biasing member 148 may be disposed in such a waythat the portion 156 of the biasing member 148 may contact the connectorbody 122 and apply the biasing force on the connector body 122 when theconnecting device 104 is installed on the motherboard 106. Inparticular, when the connecting device 104 is installed on themotherboard 106, the connector body 122 may tend to move upward therebycompressing the biasing member 148. The ends 152 of the biasing member148 in-turn receive a force from the retaining structure 150 when thebiasing member is compressed via the connector body 122. Consequently, abiasing force may be applied back on the connector body 122 by thebiasing member 148 via the portion 156 thereby keeping the connectorbody 122 forced toward the receiving structure 112 on the motherboard106.

In some examples, in order to minimize or avoid excessive force beingapplied on the receiving structure 112 by the connector 120 and toretain the connector body 122 within the connector housing 130, theconnector housing 130 may include movement limiter slot 158 thatrestricts the movement of the connector 120 toward the receivingstructure 112 caused due to the biasing force applied by the biasingmember 148. Further, to aid in such feature of limiting the movement ofthe connector 120, the connector 120 may also include a protruded wallsection 160. The protruded wall section 160 may be formed on theconnector body 122. The protruded wall section 160 may encounter themovement limiter slot 158 and movement of the connector 120 beyond themovement limiter slot 158 may be restricted.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a flow diagram of a method 1200 for forming aconnector assembly, such as the connector assembly 110 is presented, inaccordance with one example. For ease of illustration, the method 1200of FIG, 12 will be described in conjunction with the preceding FIGS.1-11.

At block 1202, a connector housing such as the connector housing 130 maybe provided. As previously noted, the connector housing 130 may includethe mounting lever 132 that is engageable with the body 114 of theconnecting device 104 to secure the connector housing 130 with theconnecting device 104 and allow the connector housing 130 to moverelative to the body 114 of the connecting device 104. Moreover, atblock 1204, a biasing member such as the biasing member 148 may bedisposed in the connector housing 130. In some examples, disposing thebiasing member 148 may include sliding the biasing member 148 into theinternal guideways 151 formed in the connector housing 130 such thatends 152 of the biasing member 148 face the retaining structure 150formed in the connector housing 130 (see FIG. 10B) and the portion 156of the biasing member 148 may remain outside the internal guideways 151.

Further, at block 1206, a connector such as the connector 120 may bedisposed in the connector housing 130. The connector 120 is connectiblewith the corresponding receiving structure 112 on the receiving device102. In some examples, the connector 120 may be disposed in theconnector housing 130 by inserting the connector body 122 in a cavitydefined by the connector housing 130. In some examples, the connector120 and the biasing member 148 are positioned such that the connector120 is biased toward the receiving structure 112 on the receiving device102 when the connecting device 104 is installed on the motherboard 106of the receiving device 102.

The connector assembly 110, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, is movable relative to the body 114 of theconnecting device 104 that can reduce any wear and tear or damages tothe connector 120 and/or the receiving structure 112 on the receivingdevice 102. Additionally, use of the biasing member 148 may ensure atight coupling between the connector 120 and the receiving structure 112when the connecting device 104 is installed in the receiving device 102.Further, as will be appreciated, use of the connector assembly 110enables the connector 120 to be connected to the receiving structure 112without requiring a separate manual connection of the connector 120.Moreover, use of the connector assembly 110 may enable tool less securecoupling of the connector 120 with the receiving structure 112.

While certain implementations have been shown and described above,various changes in form and details may be made. For example, somefeatures and/or functions that have been described in relation to oneimplementation and/or process may be related to other implementations.In other words, processes, features, components, and/or propertiesdescribed in relation to one implementation may be useful in otherimplementations. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the systemsand methods described herein may include various combinations and/orsub-combinations of the components and/or features of the differentimplementations described.

In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the subject matter disclosed herein. However,implementation may be practiced without some or all of these details.Other implementations may include modifications, combinations, andvariations from the details discussed above. It is intended that thefollowing claims cover such modifications and variations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connector assembly for a connecting device,comprising: a connector connectible with a corresponding receivingstructure on a receiving device separate from the connecting device; aconnector housing enclosing the connector, wherein the connector housingcomprises a mounting lever engaged with a body of the connecting deviceto secure the connector housing with the connecting device and allow theconnector housing to move relative to the body of the connecting device;and a biasing member to bias the connector toward the receivingstructure on the receiving device.
 2. The connector assembly of claim 1,wherein the mounting lever comprises an end section movably coupled withthe body of the connecting device.
 3. The connector assembly of claim 2,wherein the end section of the mounting lever is a cylindrical endsection, wherein the cylindrical end section is inserted into acylindrical groove in the body of the connecting device to causeengagement of the connector housing with the body of the connectingdevice while allowing the connector housing to move within thecylindrical groove.
 4. The connector assembly of claim 2, wherein theend section of the mounting lever is coupled to the body of theconnecting device using a fixture passing via an opening in the endsection to the body of the connecting device, wherein the end section iscoupled to the body of the connecting device via the fixture whileallowing an angular movement of the connector housing with respect tothe fixture.
 5. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the connectorhousing further comprises a latch lever on an opposite side of themounting lever, wherein the latch lever is removably snap-fitted to thebody of the connecting device.
 6. The connector assembly of claim 1,wherein the biasing member comprises one or more coil springs, one ormore bent wires, rubber blocks, or combinations thereof.
 7. Theconnector assembly of claim 1, wherein the connector housing comprises aretaining structure and internal guideways to secure the biasing memberinside the connector housing.
 8. The connector assembly of claim 7,wherein the biasing member is disposed in the connector housing via theinternal guideways such that ends of the biasing member face theretaining structure.
 9. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein thebiasing member is disposed in the connector housing such that at least aportion of the biasing member is placed in contact with the connector toapply biasing force on the connector.
 10. The connector assembly ofclaim 1, wherein: the connector comprises a protruded wall section; andthe connector housing further comprises a slot to restrict a movement ofthe connector caused due to biasing force applied by the biasing memberby causing a contact between a wall of the slot and the protruded wallsection of the connector.
 11. The connector assembly of claim 1, whereinthe connector is an electrical connector comprising a plurality ofelectrically conductive fingers that physically contact correspondingreceptacles in the receiving structure when the electrical connector isconnected to the receiving structure.
 12. The connector assembly ofclaim 11, wherein the electrical connector is a TA-1002 type connector.13. The connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the connecting device isa storage module comprising a plurality of storage devices, and whereinthe electrical connector is coupled to at least one storage device ofthe plurality of storage devices to facilitate data transfer for the atleast one storage device.
 14. The connector assembly of claim 11,wherein the electrical connector is a male type connector and thecorresponding receiving structure is a female-type receiver socket. 15.The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the receiving device is amotherboard of a computing system.
 16. A method for forming a connectorassembly for a connecting device, comprising: providing a connectorhousing comprising a mounting lever engageable with a body of theconnecting device to secure the connector housing with the connectingdevice and allow the connector housing to move relative to the body ofthe connecting device; disposing a biasing member in the connectorhousing; and disposing a connector in the connector housing, wherein theconnector is connectible with a corresponding receiving structure on areceiving device separate from the connecting device, and wherein theconnector and the biasing member are positioned such that a biasingforce is applied by the biasing member on the connector.
 17. The methodof claim 16, further comprising engaging the mounting lever with thebody of the connecting device via an end section of the mounting lever.18. The method of claim 16, wherein disposing the connector comprisesinserting a connector body in a cavity defined by the connector housing.19. The method of claim 18, wherein disposing the biasing membercomprises sliding the biasing member into internal guideways formed inthe connector housing such that ends of the biasing member face aretaining structure formed in the connector housing.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the biasing member is disposed in the connectorhousing such that at least a portion of the biasing member contacts withbody of the connector.